


As the Sun Rises

by Kn1ghtShade



Category: Dream SMP - Fandom, Minecraft (Video Game), Video Blogging RPF
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Ambiguous/Open Ending, Angst, Blood, Canon-Typical Violence, Enderwalk, Fighting, Gen, Heavy Angst, Minor Character Death, Prison, Prisoner Clay | Dream (Video Blogging RPF), Ranboo Angst (Video Blogging RPF), Ranboo-centric (Video Blogging RPF), no beta we die like men
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-03-09
Updated: 2021-03-09
Packaged: 2021-03-15 18:15:22
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 2
Words: 5,847
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29937429
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Kn1ghtShade/pseuds/Kn1ghtShade
Summary: Ranboo wakes up in a different place everyday. Sometimes his tools are near broken. Often, he has no idea how he got there.It's fine. Just his memory acting up. Certainly nothing to be concerned about. It's annoying, but he can deal with it.Until he can't anymore.
Relationships: Clay | Dream & Ranboo (Video Blogging RPF), Ranboo & Toby Smith | Tubbo
Comments: 7
Kudos: 116





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> I wrote this at like 2am when I had a sudden fit of inspiration, so apologies if it doesn't make sense. This was also originally intended to just be one chapter, but this idea really got ahold of me, so I decided to split it into two. Have fun.

Ranboo hummed quietly to himself as he walked through the tundra back to his house. His mining trip had been a success, just like the last one, and the one before that. He had more resources than his past self could have ever dreamed. One of the benefits of not having people constantly asking him for things, or fighting, or bothering him in general.

The snow crunched under his feet as he strode past Techno's house. Smoke rose steadily from the chimney and he could hear barking coming from the kennels. Techno was nowhere in sight, but that wasn't an uncommon occurrence. While they'd gone adventuring together a few times, Ranboo had seen little of Techno or Phil. His hosts had kept to themselves, and despite being mostly alone in the desolate tundra, Ranboo found he didn't mind the solitude. Less people meant less prying eyes, anyway. The thought of direct eye contact with anyone still made him shiver.

While most of his time was spent either mining or trading with the plethora of villagers Techno kept, he hadn't cut himself off entirely from the rest of the SMP. More and more frequently, he'd found himself drawn to Snowchester. He's found a companion in Tubbo, and he had many fond memories over the past few weeks of messing around with him. Just the other day, he'd helped him rescue a baby piglin from the nether they'd dubbed Michael. It'd taken ages to escort it all the way back to Snowchester, but the victorious look on Tubbo's face when they'd completed their mission had made it all worth it.

So, Tubbo wasn't so bad. Sure, they'd had bumps in the road in the past, but he had seemed genuinely willing to try again. At this point, he was probably the only person Ranboo could really count as a friend. While Techno and Phil had taken him in, he was under no false impressions about the state of their relationship. Ranboo was a tenant, nothing more. He was honestly surprised they weren't charging him rent.

Then again, the spawners Techno had gotten off of him had probably been worth a lifetime of rent to the warrior.

Ranboo shook his head, clearing his thoughts as he pushed open the door to his house. He quickly descended the ladder into his basement and placed the lever on the wall to open the door to his vault. Once inside, he emptied his inventory into the chests. He took a step back to admire the fruits of his labor.

Stacks upon stacks of diamonds, emeralds, iron, and gold practically glowed within the dull chest. Not just ingots, either - these were full blocks, crafted himself down in the mine in order to save space in his inventory.

Satisfied by the sight, Ranboo snapped the chest shut, hearing the click of the latch falling into place. He closed the vault and stretched, wondering what to do next.

Honestly, it was hard to think of anything. Mining, while it had kept him busy the past few weeks, was starting to feel redundant after doing it every day for weeks straight. He certainly wasn't wanting for resources.

Maybe he'd visit Snowchester tomorrow, talk to Tubbo. Ranboo had been helping him build a fast travel system using soul sand and water - maybe he could help work on that.

Satisfied with his plan, he started up the ladder to his bedroom. He took a moment before he went to bed to peruse his memory book, refreshing himself on everything that had happened. There wasn't much - ever since Dream had been put in prison, things had been quiet. Still, it was a routine that felt both comforting and necessary, and he found himself jotting down a few notes about the day. Eventually he snapped the book shut, and let himself slide into a deep, dreamless sleep.

When he woke up, he was not at his house. In fact, he wasn't even in the tundra. He's somehow ended up on the other side of the server in a mycelium biome, right next to Fundy's mob farm.

"What." He muttered to himself, glancing around. No one was in sight. Confused, he pulled out his memory book. Nothing there informed him of what he was doing here.

Frustrated, he dragged a hand through his hair. As an afterthought, he checked the durability on his tools - both of his pickaxes and his shovel were all dangerously low. On closer inspection, he could even see a crack in the handle of one of his pickaxes.

"Great. Just great. This is exactly what I wanted to wake up to today." Bitterly, he turned back toward Fundy's farm. There was a lingering sense of purpose about him that was rapidly fading, like he'd been here to do something, but he couldn't remember what is was.

It was, unfortunately, a familiar feeling.

He turned away from the farm and started marching toward the nether portal to take him back home, but paused before he got there.

"Gunpowder... I need gunpowder." He sighed and started jogging back toward the farm. "Since I'm here..."

Fortunately, there were several stacks of gunpowder in the collection chests. Ranboo pocketed all of them, hoping Fundy wouldn't mind. He was halfway through the nether before he realized he had no idea what he wanted the gunpowder for.

"What the-" He cut himself off and sighed, dragging a hand through his hair. He glared at the lava, wondering if it was worth it to return the gunpowder. Deciding against it - there was always the chance he'd remember later, after all - he continued back to his house. He stored the gunpowder in one of the chests in his vault before grabbing some soul sand. One trip through the nether later, he found himself standing outside of Snowchester, trident in hand. Tubbo greeted him by the water.

"Hey big man!" Tubbo ran up and fist-bumped him, a huge grin splitting his face. "Been awhile since I've seen you. What've you been up to?"

Ranboo consulted his memory book before responding. "Just mining, I think. And I've got some soul sand for the tunnel you're working on." He almost mentioned the strange experience he'd had waking up, but some spark of... doubt? Unease? Kept him from saying anything.

Tubbo was already heading toward the entrance to the tunnel. "Awesome! Is there any chance I could borrow your boots when it's done? Mine don't have soul speed and I want to try it out."

Ranboo hid a smile. "You're making a fast-travel path using soul sand, but you don't have enchanted boots to use it?" His friend - was that right? Yes, friend - turned red and immediately started sputtering excuses, but Ranboo just laughed and followed him up the path. "Of course I'll let you use my boots."

The pair spent the rest of the day working on the tunnel and gathering resources for other parts of Snowchester. Ranboo didn't stop smiling the entire time, and felt almost sorry when the sun started to get low in the sky. He'd hoped to stay for longer, but he also had to repair his tools before he went home.

"See you later, big man!" Tubbo called, waving from the porch of his house. Ranboo waved back, feeling a sudden rush of insecurity as he tried to figure out how to respond. "Bye Tubbo!" He called, pulling out his trident. _Thank you for helping me smile. For being there when no one else is. For caring. For actually trying, instead of just ignoring me or blindly hating me like everyone else._ "See you later!"

He swallowed down his guilt as the trident pulled him up through the air and away from Snowchester. _Next time._ He promised himself. _I'll tell him next time._

He spent the next few hours at the spider spawner, grinding out levels to repair his tools. When he got home, he scribbled just a few notes in his memory book before dropping into bed, completely exhausted.

When he woke up the next morning, it was at least in his house, though he was back in the basement. His shovel was near destroyed - as he examined the cracked netherite with wide eyes, he wondered at how it wasn't completely broken.

Well, no matter. He'd just stop at the spider spawner before going mining today.

He stopped at his vault once before leaving. The usual wealth all shined up at him from within the chest, but looking in, he couldn't help but feel like something was missing. Hadn't he added something to this chest yesterday? Something important?

He wasted a few more minutes staring at the contents of the chest before giving up on remembering.

Whatever, he'd figure it out later. Probably.

As he went outside, he felt some glimmer of hope that he'd see either Techno or Phil, but neither was in sight. He shoved down his disappointment and continued on toward the nether portal.

He spent less time at the spider spawner, having only one tool to repair this time around. Still, it was annoying having to take the detour. He was just about to head back into the nether when he heard his name being called.

"Ranboo! Wait up big man!"

He immediately stopped and turned around, grinning at the sight of Tubbo running up to him. But he took pause at the sight of his friend. His clothes were rumpled and a bit torn (though that wasn't particularly out of the ordinary for Tubbo) and he was decked out in full netherite, the armor shimmering in the sunlight. What really caught Ranboo's attention, though, was the lack of a grin splitting his face, the way his ears angled downward, almost fearfully, the slight defensive curl to his shoulders. Something was wrong.

"Hey Tubbo, what's going on?"

"Did you hear what happened at the prison last night?" A chill ran down his spine at the mention of the prison. Then the full implications of what that could mean hit him like an anvil.

"Wait, Dream didn't escape, did he!?"

"No, no no no." Tubbo was quick to dismiss the idea. Ranboo felt dizzy with relief at the dismissal. "Sam thinks he might have tried, though." And just like that, the awful feeling was back.

"Why? What happened?"

Tubbo sniffled, and Ranboo noticed his hands where shaking. "It happened while Tommy was visiting." Tubbo said quietly. "Tommy- he even said it was going to be his last visit. He going to go one last time, then just focus on his hotel." Tubbo drew in a shaky breath, and Ranboo pretended not to notice the shininess in his eyes. "But while he was there, Sam said he heard explosions. Like, _a lot_ of TNT just went off. So Sam put the prison on lockdown, and now Tommy is stuck in the prison with _Dream-_ " Tubbo's breath hitched, and Ranboo saw tears start flowing down his face. He stood helplessly to the side, completely clueless as to how to comfort his friend. 

"Hey, it's- it'll be okay." He said awkwardly. "Sam's a smart guy, he'll fix whatever happened. And Tommy's tough. He'll make it through."

"I know, I know." Tubbo whispered, staring miserably into the distance. "But- Ranboo, it feels like exile all over again. He's just in there, _with Dream,_ and I can't- I can't-" Tubbo started pacing in agitation, tears still flowing down his face. 

"I can't be there for him." He said finally, turning to face Ranboo. "He needs me, and he's stuck in the prison, and I can't _be there._ " His voice broke on the last few words and he closed his eyes, silent tears continuing to run. Ranboo felt frozen, wanting to help but afraid to do something wrong.

Hesitantly, he took a step forward and wrapped his arms around Tubbo. The other teen shuddered and pressed his head into Ranboo's shoulder, returning the embrace. For the longest time, the two teens just held each other, Tubbo crying into Ranboo's shoulder. Eventually Tubbo, pulled back, wiping at his eyes.

"I'm going to Tommy's hotel." He announced, pulling out his trident. "I'll just- do some housekeeping, y'know? Make sure no one messes with the place while Tommy's gone."

"I'll come with you." Ranboo said instantly. Tubbo smiled up at him gratefully. 

"Let's go."

The pair moved quickly, united with a sense of purpose. Tubbo looked a lot better now that he had a sense of direction, and Ranboo was just happy to support his friend.

Tubbo frowned at the hotel as it came into view.

"That's not the right sign." He muttered. "That's supposed to read 'The Big Innit Hotel'... Someone changed it."

Ranboo squinted, trying to make out the words on the sign. It was definitely different. "Does that say... _Jackmanifold's Hotel?_ "

"Wait, what?" Tubbo questioned, an angry undertone to his voice. "What is Jack doing?"

Ranboo felt a sense of foreboding as the hotel grew larger in his field of view. "I don't know." He answered honestly. "But I don't think I like it."

"No kidding." Tubbo muttered angrily. He jogged along the prime path, hurrying toward the hotel. When he got there, he shoved through the gate, not bothering to read any of the new signs that were posted.

"Jack!" Tubbo yelled, stalking toward the hotel. "You get out here right now!"

Jack popped out through the front door of the hotel, grinning. "Hey boys!" He yelled, spreading his arms. "Welcome to my hotel!"

" _Your_ hotel?" Ranboo asked, suddenly feeling nervous. "I thought this belonged to Tommy."

"Not anymore!" Jack proclaimed. "Tommy's in jail. He's a criminal. So I, as the only other employee of this here hotel, have decided to take charge of things in his absence. Including changing the name." He gestured grandly to the new sign. "After all, having the hotel named after a criminal is just bad branding."

_"Criminal!?"_ Tubbo stalked forward angrily, ignoring the way Jack's eyes widened. "He isn't a criminal, he's stuck in there because of a security issue! You have no right to do any of this!" 

"Not what I heard." Jack took a nervous step backward, before seemingly getting ahold of himself and stepping forward again. "I heard he's in prison. Maximum security. Sounds like a criminal to me."

"You lying son of a-" Tubbo was cut off by the creaking of a fence gate. Ranboo whirled around to see Puffy entering the hotel grounds, eyes narrowed.

"Jack," she said, voice dangerously low. "What is going here?"

Jack laughed nervously. "Just doing some upkeep while Tommy is out. Why uh, why do you ask? Do you want a room?"

"He's trying to steal Tommy's hotel!" Tubbo protested loudly, puffing up with righteous anger. Puffy turned back toward Jack.

"Jack." She said lowly, a furious glint in her eye. "I think you should leave."

"What!? This is my hotel! I'm just doing my job!"

Ranboo drew his sword, the enchanted netherite practically glowing as the sun hit it. "No, I think I'm with Puffy. You should leave."

Jack's gaze darted between the three warriors, all of whom were wearing fully enchanted netherite armor, to the sword Ranboo was holding in his hand, and considered his options.

"Tommy will be hearing about this!" He yelled as he sprinted for the exit gate. "You're disrupting routine operations!" Ranboo watched him run, hiding his amusement.

"You all also owe money to the hotel!" Jack yelled back at them once he deemed himself to be a safe distance away. "We've started charging for time spent of the grounds! It's five diamonds per minute you-" He cut himself off with a yelp as a crossbow bolt came dangerously close to his head. Ranboo glanced at Puffy, amused, as she loaded another bolt.

"And stay out, you piece of scum!" She yelled, watching him disappear down the prime path. Ranboo smirked in victory as he vanished.

Ranboo sheathed his sword and Puffy put away her crossbow. They walked over to Tubbo, who was gazing mournfully up at the hotel. 

"He even changed the sign." Puffy said in disgust. "Just because Tommy got stuck in the prison - what is wrong with him?"

"I don't know, but he better get his act together." Tubbo muttered. "If he pulls something like this again I might just kick him out of Snowchester."

"I'll work on fixing the sign." Puffy said, pulling out her axe. "You two go inside and make sure he didn't mess with anything.

Tubbo nodded, and Ranboo followed him into the hotel. It was impressive, he had to admit. The sheer size of the thing alone was enough to make it stand out, but coupled with Sam's building skills, there were few structures on the server that could match it in quality.

The only thing they found amiss was a sign that had been changed from 'TommyInnit's Suite' to 'JackManifold's Suite', something that had Tubbo fuming. They spent the next few hours examining and cleaning everything else, joined by Puffy after she finished the sign. But for the most part, Jack had left it alone.

"I'll help you watch over it." Puffy promised as Ranboo and Tubbo left for Snowchester. Tubbo gave her a grateful smile.

"I'll talk to Jack when we get back, too. He needs to leave Tommy alone if he wants to stay in my country."

The two of them left, moving at a brisk pace. Ranboo paused when he saw Tubbo take a wrong turn.

"Uh, Tubbo? Snowchester is that way."

"I know." Tubbo stuck resolutely to his path. "We're taking a detour." Confused, Ranboo turned to follow him. They walked past Bad and Skeppy's house, and the prison came into view. It was a giant, looming affair. It was one of two builds on the server with the ability to dwarf the hotel in size and grandeur.

Tubbo was staring at the prison with an unreadable expression on his face. "Have you ever been inside?" He asked.

_No. Yes. Maybe._ "I don't think so." 

Tubbo chuckled. "Must be a no, then. You would've written something like that down if you had."

_You'd think._

"Yeah, you're right." Except apparently he wasn't, because Ranboo still hadn't figured what had happened with Sam a few weeks ago. He was certain he had never visited the prison before, but Sam had two signed books written in Ender that undeniably proved otherwise.

"I wonder what it's like in there." Tubbo's voice pulled him out of his thoughts.

"I have no idea." Ranboo answered, honestly this time. Whether he'd been there or not, his memory was still effectively worthless. "If it's anything like what it look like on the outside, it's probably terrifying."

Tubbo shuddered, and Ranboo suddenly remembered why they were there (had he forgotten? No, this had just been stupidity).

"I'm sure Tommy's fine though!" He added hastily, trying to fix his mistake. "Like I said earlier, he's tough. He's been through so much already, no way this is going to take him down."

He glanced over at Tubbo and saw tears gathering in his friend's eyes. He started to panic, not sure he could handle Tubbo crying again.

"I'll be fine, big man." Tubbo said softly, noticing his distress. "I'm just worried about Tommy. And the prison. Aside from Tommy being stuck with Dream, what if whatever caused the explosions happens again? What if Dream gets out?"

"That's not going to happen. Sam will fix it." It was a weak protest, and both of them knew it. Ranboo was trying to convince himself just as much as Tubbo.

"You can go home, if you want. I'm going to stay here for awhile." Tubbo sat down, looking exhausted. "Just need some time to be alone with my thoughts, I think."

Ranboo nodded and started walking back toward the prime path. He glanced back one last time before Tubbo was out of sight. He was sitting on the hill facing the prison, the sunset casting an orange glow on his face. His gaze was fixed on the prison, and he was clearly lost in thought.

When Ranboo got home, Techno or Phil were still nowhere to be found. Standing alone in the tundra, he felt and unexpected rush of anger. Tommy was locked up with Dream, Tubbo - and by extension, Ranboo - seemed to be on the verge of a breakdown, and neither had been spotted all day. Did they even know what had happened?

...if they did know, would they even care?

Ranboo entered his house, lost in thought. He pulled out his memory book - he had a lot to write down. Curled up in the basement, only the villagers and pets for company, he didn't even remember falling asleep.

When he woke up, he was covered in blood.


	2. Chapter 2

_He stalked through the night, entirely silent. Not that anyone was there to hear him - everyone was either sleeping or inside, not wanting to take chances with the mobs that hunted in the nighttime._

_He didn't have to worry about mobs. They recognized him as one of their own._

_The prison came into view. Giant, huge, foreboding. A build so ambitious it had taken countless weeks and one of the greatest redstone engineers to pull it together. Near impossible to get in or out._

_He hefted the TNT he was carrying and smiled._

_It was only near impossible, after all._

No.

No, no no no no no no no no no

_The screams of a dying elder guardian rang in his ears. Moments later, it was drowned out by blaring alarms and thundering footsteps. He dug into the wall, free from mining fatigue. His pickaxe cut through the obsidian like it was butter, and it was easy enough to conceal his path through the wall. It was an effort not to chuckle at panicked shouts of the guards. Really, trying to keep someone it the prison who had practically built the thing was a task doomed from the start._

Dream's smiling mask looked down at him. He was wearing full netherite, and a sword was held loosely in his hand. And he was outside.

Ranboo looked down at himself. His armor was dripping with blood, it ran in rivers through grooves in the netherite before falling onto the ground. Dream stepped toward him, movements languid, completely unbothered.

"How curious." His voice was soft, but it somehow still felt threatening. "Welcome back, Ranboo. Thanks for all your help back there."

Ranboo stumbled backwards, completely unable to comprehend what he was seeing.

_He stabbed the guard in the back, twisting his sword as they fell. They were dead before they hit the ground. He rooted around in their pockets, pulling out their key. Out of curiosity, he pulled up the guard's helmet - Bad. He couldn't help but chuckle as he walked away. Skeppy's reaction to this was going to be priceless._

Dream- Dream was out. Out of the prison. How was he out? Why-

Why was Ranboo here? Why was he here what had he done? What had Dream done? How- why-

Why was there so much blood? Why was Ranboo holding his sword why was Dream holding his sword why were both of their swords covered in blood why was he covered in blood where was Sam where was Tommy what _happened-_

_He swam through the lava, the heat barely noticeable. He entered the cell, dusting himself off. Tommy screamed in shock when he saw him, throwing himself back into a corner. Dream was standing over by the lectern, writing in a book._

_"Ranboo- what- what's going on? What are you doing here?" Ranboo glanced over at Tommy, irritated. The blond teen was shaking, hunched over in the water. Dream snapped his book shut, and they both looked over at him._

_"Ranboo?" Dream asked, though it was less of a question and more of a command._

_Ranboo pulled out an ender chest and placed it in the middle of the cell. He tossed Dream a fire resistance potion that shattered at his feet._

_"WOAH WOAH WOAH STOP RIGHT THERE-" Tommy lunged across the cell, only to pull up short as Dream pulled a netherite sword out of the chest. Tommy's gaze darted back and forth between Dream and Ranboo._

_"Wait- wait- what's going on? Dream-" Tommy laughed nervously, betrayed by the terror in his eyes. "Dream you- you wouldn't."_

_Dream's smile was maniac as he gripped the sword. "Tommy, I have been waiting to do this for a long, long time."_

_Ranboo didn't flinch as Dream brought the sword down._

Ranboo stumbled back and fell, sword dropping out of his hand. Dream stood over him, clearly amused. Ranboo stared up at him, completely frozen. Everything felt blurry and out of focus. This wasn't real, right? This was just, was just-

Just his memory acting up again. That was it. He was- was seeing things. That was the only way to explain the man standing over him, the blood covering them both. It was some sort of hallucination, or fever dream. Yes. That's what this was. Just a dream.

_Sam and another guard were blocking the exit to the prison. Both were in full netherite, and if the broken glass surrounding them was anything to go by, they had just gone through a few potions, too._

_Dream and Ranboo also had full armor, but Dream was weak after weeks of imprisonment, and it was common knowledge that Ranboo wasn't a fighter._

_And yet._

_And yet it was Sam and the guard that trembled in fear, gripped their swords a little too tightly, had rivulets of sweat dripping down their foreheads and backs. It was the guard that kept looking over their shoulder at the exit, like they wanted to run._

_Dream stepped forward. He'd kept a spare mask in his ender chest, and the light from the lava reflected off of it eerily._

_"Because I'm feeling nice," Dream said coolly, "I'll give you one chance to run."_

_"Ranboo." Sam's voice was pained, confused, desperate. "Ranboo, what are you doing? You know he's evil, you know what he did-"_

_"I'll take that as a no, then." Dream cut him off smoothly. Ranboo hadn't moved an inch throughout the entire exchange, he'd just been watching from the sidelines. A bystander, really, even though Sam had been addressing him._

_When Dream charged into battle, Ranboo followed him._

What had he been doing before this? He'd been... he'd...

That right. The hotel. He'd been taking care of Tommy's hotel, because Tommy was in prison. With Dream. Dream was also in the prison. Both of them were in the prison, and because Tommy was in the prison, Ranboo had to take care of his hotel.

And he'd been doing it with... with... hadn't there been someone else there?

Puffy, that's who it was. She's been helping. She'd made a new sign. That had been nice of her.

He should be getting back to his house... or had he gone there already? It was all blurring together, incomprehensible memories coming and going like flashes of light that passed too quickly for anything other than a glimpse.

Dream was saying something. Wait, Dream? No, no, Dream was in the prison. Dream was locked up.

Dream was right in front of him, and he was saying something.

What was he saying? Ranboo couldn't seem to make it out. Everything was so faint, and there was some sort of ringing in his ears that was high-pitched and wouldn't go away. He tilted his head, confused.

Dream took another step forward and pulled off his mask. If it had been possible for Ranboo to feel any more shocked or confused than he already did, perhaps he would have had a reaction other than staring numbly up at the other man. Dream's expression was twisted in a mix of cruelty and satisfaction, and as he repeated what he'd been saying, Ranboo was finally able to read his lips and piece together the message.

'Look behind you.'

Ranboo turned, and his mind went completely blank.

_Unlike Tommy's body, which had remained in the cell after Dream had killed him, Sam and Ant's bodies turned into dust just a few minutes after they had been killed. Ranboo watched curiously; he hadn't stuck around after Bad died to see the same thing happen to him._

_Dream was rooting through chests, muttering to himself. Ranboo had no idea what he was looking for, and he wasn't about to ask. His only job was to get Dream out, a plan that had been executed beautifully thus far._

_When Dream finally stood up, tucking a few books into his inventory, Ranboo was quick to follow him out of the prison. It wasn't until they were up the hill - nearly away, nearly free - that Ranboo realized the one thing he had forgotten._

_Tubbo stood on the prime path, staring and Ranboo and Dream. He was completely tense, with a white-knuckled grip on his sword and wide eyes that darted back and forth between the pair._

_"Ranboo." Tubbo whispered hoarsely, the enderman hybrid barely able to make it out. Dream tilted his head in amusement, regarding the teen in front of him. He turned to Ranboo, a cruel smile just visible under the shadow of his mask._

_"You know what to do." Dream said, his mask smiling eerily at him._

_For the first time that night, the hybrid felt something like unease creeping through him._

Tubbo's body was on the ground, a gaping hole his chest. Blood oozed slowly from the wound, thick and dark.

Ranboo's sword dropped to the ground with a thud, a similar sound following as Ranboo fell to his knees.

This- this wasn't- no, his friend had been alive just a few hours ago, they'd been talking, and worried about Tommy, and working on the hotel, and-

Tubbo'd been on his last life, hadn't he?

But that didn't matter, shouldn't matter, because Tubbo was alive, because the corpse in front of him wasn't his friend, couldn't be his friend, because Tuboo was alive and well and alive and happy and not dead not dead not dead not-

A hand dropped onto his shoulder and Ranboo flinched hard enough to throw himself a few feet away. He lay panting on the ground, staring upwards at the only person that could have caused this.

"You killed him." Ranboo whispered to Dream, some semblance of rational thought finally breaking through his denial. "You- you-"

Dream just tipped his head back and laughed.

"Oh, Ranboo." He said, a maniac delight lighting up his eyes. "I didn't do anything."

Ranboo started shaking. "You killed him." He insisted again, because that was the only explanation, the only thing that made sense, that was-

that was-

was that right?

_"Ranboo, Ranboo, Ranboo- Ranboo **stop-** " Ranboo prowled after his quarry, unease and determination warring with every step._

_"Ranboo, you don't have to do this, you don't have to listen to Dream-"_

_But Dream hadn't said anything, had he? Nothing direct, anyway. He was just sitting off to the side, watching the pair. What he was thinking, Ranboo didn't know. His mask made him unreadable._

_Ranboo had a job. His job was to break Dream out, get him to safety. Tubbo had seen them break out. He was looking at them right now, wide-eyed and afraid. Even though he clearly didn't understand everything that was happening, he knew enough to make him a threat. Sam, Bad, and Ant had all probably respawned already, and were probably en route to the prison._

_Tubbo had nukes, Ranboo remembered. He was powerful. But he was also on his last life._

_Right now, Ranboo had the opportunity to take that life._

_Killing him would be beneficial to Dream. To their mission. His mission._

_He stared down the blond teen in front of him with growing conviction._

_"Do it." Dream was practically vibrating with excitement as he watched Ranboo's inner turmoil._

_"Ranboo, I don't know what he told you or what he did, but- this isn't worth it. Please." Tubbo was crying, not bothering to hold up his sword anymore or even try to look threatening. Everyone there knew he had no chance of winning against both Ranboo and Dream. "What about Michael?" He whispered. "And Snowchester, and Tommy?"_

_Tommy was dead. Snowchester was a threat. Michael..._

_A faint buzzing started up in the back of Ranboo's mind, a memory screaming to be released. The name Michael was familiar, but he couldn't quite place it. His hand twitched, instinctively reaching for his memory book before Ranboo remembered himself._

_"Do it." Dream said again, voice practically dripping with anticipation._

_It didn't matter. Tubbo was a threat. Snowchester was a threat._

_Ranboo's only goal was to keep Dream safe._

_With one fluid motion, Ranboo stepped forward and stabbed him in the chest._

_Tubbo made no move to defend himself. For a moment, both of them were frozen, staring at the sword in Tubbo's chest. Ranboo looked up and their eyes met, both of them simultaneously realizing what had just happened._

_Ranboo pulled the sword out and staggered backwards, a sudden headache feeling like it was going to split his skull. He turned to face Dream, ignoring the thud of a body hitting the ground behind him._

_Tubbo was on his last life._

_Dream, even with the mask, radiated victory._

_A horrible feeling took root in his gut, and he knew without question that he had just made a horrible mistake._

_...what had he done?_

No. No. No. No. No. No. No. No. No. No. No. No. No. No. No. No. No. No. No. No.

No.

Dream was saying- Tubbo was dead? Dream was in prison. Dream escaped. Tubbo was fine. Sam was dead. _He needed to keep Dream safe._ He needed to kill Dream. He was working with Tubbo on the hotel. _Blood, blood, there's so much blood._ The prison was impenetrable, inescapable. Tubbo was fine, they were working on the hotel together.

Tubbo was dead.

Ranboo killed him.

His headache started up again, a constant pounding. Coupled with sudden nausea, he wasn't entirely sure he wasn't going to pass out.

Dream was smiling. It was sharp and cruel, and the now-unmasked man knelt down next to Ranboo.

"You and I," He whispered, "Are going to have so much fun."

He slipped Ranboo a piece of paper, torn out of one of the many books he'd taken from the prison. Instinctively, Ranboo took it and read it.

_:)_

The world spun, and everything went dark for the last time.

_Ranboo stood up, discarding the piece of paper. Dream was laughing as he picked up his mask and slipped it back into place._

_"Let's go. I have a place we can hide out while we get some supplies." Ranboo nodded, sheathing his sword. He'd have to clean the blood off of it later - for now, they had to get away from the prison before Sam returned with the guards._

_Together, Dream and Ranboo vanished into the night, a destroyed prison and two corpses in their wake._

_Ranboo didn't look back._


End file.
